Jun 20, 2008   | COMMENTS     

BOSTON (AP) — Mass-achusetts Gov. Deval Patrick joined his family to march in the annual Boston Gay Pride parade, days after his eldest daughter announced she is gay. Last year, Patrick became the first governor to march in the parade. On Saturday, he joined his family near the end of the route and was greeted with boisterous cheers. Patrick’s 18-year-old daughter, Katherine, announced she is gay in a recent interview.

Twin porn actors’ mother to stand trial in rooftop burglary

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A woman whose twin sons were aspiring models and gay porn actors has been ordered to stand trial with them in the burglary of a Philadelphia business. Keyontyli and Taleon Goffney of Pennsauken, N.J., were arrested Feb. 19 after authorities said they watched the 25-year-old twins break into a South Philadelphia beauty shop through the roof. Prosecutor Caroline Keating says the twins’ mother, Towana Goffney, was the lookout. Last week she was also ordered to stand trial. Her attorney said she will plead not guilty.

Pittsburgh council gives  OK to domestic partner registry

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved a plan to create a domestic registry for couples — gay or straight — living together in committed relationships. Couples can pay $25 to be registered. Registered city employees could share their benefits with partners. The registry could also be used by employers in deciding whether to offer domestic partner benefits to such people. Non-city residents would not be allowed to register. The measure passed 7-1.

Gay New Jersey couple receives $2.84 million in harassment suit

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A gay couple who say unruly and drunken volunteer firefighters threatened and harassed them have been awarded $2.84 million in damages by a Hudson County, N.J., jury. Peter de Vries and Timothy Carter claimed in a lawsuit that they were confronted by firefighters yelling homophobic taunts after Carter complained about a raucous early morning party in the firehouse parking lot in April of 2004. A jury awarded about $433,000 for economic damages and $1 million in emotional damages to de Vries, and $1.4 million in emotional damages to Carter.

R.I. judge refuses to hear lesbian couple’s divorce case

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A judge in Rhode Island has refused to hear the divorce case of a lesbian couple, but questioned whether the law that barred the women from ending their marriage unconstitutionally denied them a right enjoyed by straight Rhode Islanders. Judge Patricia Hurst denied the request last week, saying her court does not have jurisdiction to handle divorce. She said the law could be challenged in family court and ultimately ruled on by the Supreme Court. Margaret Chambers and Cassandra Ormiston wed in Massachusetts in 2004.

GOP leader who performed oral sex on sleeping man pleads guilty

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The former chair of the Clark County, Ky., Republican Party pleaded guilty last week to criminal deviate conduct as part of an agreement that could result in two years in jail, the Courier-Journal, a Louisville, Ky., newspaper reported. Glenn Murphy Jr. was arrested after authorities said he performed oral sex on a sleeping 22-year-old man following a July 28 party at a home in Jeffersonville, Ky., the paper said. The plea agreement calls for a six-year sentence, with four years suspended. Murphy is free on a $25,000 bond pending his June 30 sentencing. Murphy, who was also chair of the Young Republican National Federation, resigned from both posts when the allegations were made public last year. The man, whom the Courier-Journal did not identify, said he pushed Murphy away then met with him later and secretly taped a conversation in which Murphy apologized and begged him not to press charges.

San Francisco’s Toklas Club boycotting HRC dinner

SAN FRANCISCO — Members of San Francisco’s Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, the country’s oldest gay Democratic club, will not participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s dinner there slated for July 16. The group cited, “HRC’s ongoing refusal to advocate for federal legislation that protects all Americans from discrimination based on gender identity and expression …,” an open letter states. HRC drew significant ire from many in the gay community last year for not opposing a gay-only version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which passed in the House but hasn’t been introduced in the Senate.